Christmas Day!

Dec 27, 2013

Here are a few snippets of Christmas time at our house! It was merry, cozy, twinkling-lights-y, gift kissed, food overloaded, board game avalanched, and blankets-by-the-fire-place-y time. My mom and I spent hours baking cakes for the sweets table (well, her doing the grunt work, me licking the spoons) while she told me of Christmases back in Poland when she was a little girl. They lived in a tiny cottage on their farm and the night before Christmas they'd all huddle in the kitchen and take turns preparing things on the fire wood stove and weaving Christmas decorations out of hay, candy, and tissue paper while singing Christmas carols merrily. While the girls were doing their part in the kitchen, my grandpa would grab his axe and go out into the woods searching for the perfect pine. He'd stomp through a mile of knee-deep snow until he'd find just the right one, and then heave it onto his shoulder and bring it back for the little women to inspect with a critical eye. Then once they gave him the thumbs up and a kiss on the cheek for his efforts, they would decorate the tree with prettily wrapped chocolates and real candles that lit up the whole room. But for a house full of kids, having chocolates as decorations was pure torture, haha! My mom remembers wandering the cottage trying to do her chores, the whole time thinking how there was a minty delight just a few feet away, hers for the taking. And so when no one was looking she and her brothers and sister would sneakily take the chocolate out of the wrapping and run for cover with their stolen treasure. There were a lot of mad, robbed faces on Christmas day when it was time to divvy up the sweets and there were no chocolates to be found inside their wrappers, haha!

And while ours wasn't quite as old-world as hers, I still think we made lots of memories I'll be recalling fondly as these years roll on by :)

And speaking of memories, this year we decided to be very merry and forced the whole family to wear Christmas sweaters! It was so hysterical. We usually dress up in fancy dresses and suits for the holidays, so when my cousins came through the front door and started taking off their peacoats and jackets and out came Santa sweaters and kitten vests we all collapsed into delighted laughs. Needless to say our family pictures came out ah-mazing this year.

And even though, yes, I was donning a granny kitten sweater vest, I still wanted my outfit to be pretty, haha! Which was why my New Old Fashion wool shift dress was just the thing to save this look. I like that it was a mini dress and sleeveless because it gave the outfit a young air, and it was also fun to layer with a turtleneck to still keep me feeling cozy throughout the day. I couldn't have asked for a better layering piece then this dress! And if you want to find another clean-cut piece like this woolen number, you should definitely check out New Old Fashion here. They have a bevvy of feminine and classic pieces you'll love!

I just watched the movie "Ginger & Rose" which is set in London in 1962 and you totally look like you could be in that movie with this outfit. Love it :) Such a fun idea to have the whole family dress up in Christmas sweaters too. I bet it was a memorable holiday.

Oh wow, this is such a lovely peek at your family's Christmas! It looks like it was a wonderful day, and the Christmas sweater idea was genius. Hehe, how fun and festive! Also, your mom's story about her Christmas was so delightful to read :)

Such beautiful photos! Sounds like a wonderful Christmas day! :) I really meant to take more photos on Christmas day this year, but got so distracted with the food and gifts and catching up with people. Will try harder next year! :)

I loved hearing about your mom's Christmases as a little girl. That's so sweet that your grandpa would brave the cold and deep snow just to find the perfect Christmas tree for his family. :) Old family stories are always the best.

These pictures are lovely, and it sounds and looks like you had a perfect holiday! I hope you have a great New Year's too. :)